International call-up for Keith Kearney

Rochdale AFC Youth Team defender Keith Kearney has been called up to the Northern Ireland under-17 squad.

The call-up will see the 16-year-old travel to Poland for a week long friendly tournament. He’ll join up with his team-mates on Thursday.

Kearney, who left home in Armagh this summer to join Dale, is no stranger to the national set-up, having made several appearances for Northern Ireland at both under-16 and under-17 level.

He commented: “I love representing my country - there's no better feeling. It’ll be good to get back home and see my Irish team-mates. I’ve been with them before, I've got 10 caps now, and they’ve become good friends of mine.”